The Resurrection
by Goldy
Summary: A Season 3 story. A new evil comes to town and changes the lives of one Buffy Summers and one Angel the Souled Vampire forever.
1. Prologue

Author: Goldy

Title: The Resurrection

Disclaimer: Buffy and all things Buffyistic belong to Joss, Fox, and ME. I don't make any profit of this, but, do, however, believe that whatever I come up with is better than anything ME has shown us over the past few years. But that's just a matter of opinion.

Summary: This time she won't fail.

Timeline: Mid season 3 timeline. There is no Faith or Wesley, apparently. However, Cordelia and Xander have split up and Buffy and Angel are trying to figure out how to be together.

Pairings: B/A centric (do I write anything else?) with W/O and hints of C/X

Author's notes: I know, I promised I was done with B/A fanfiction for a while, but 'The Resurrection' was the first piece of fanfic I EVER wrote and I've been in the process of re-writing it for the past year or so. It's about half done, so let me know if anyone actually likes it.

Author's Notes 2: Okayyyy. So the opening is kind of cheesy. *g* I wasn't exactly the best writer when I started this three years ago. Just… go with it. I hope it gets less cheese worthy. 

Feedback: Please. I'm about fed up with the rest of fandom, so I could really use some nice, comfy words. 

Prologue

Lyons, France 1919 

The night was young. Daniel was thirsty, but wary. She mustn't do anything too soon. She had to stay still until she was rewarded with her directions. She was waiting for the sign that would let her know that it was time to feed.

A small slavish follower, granted one that was ever so loyal to her, came up grinning devilishly. "The night is dark and dangerous," he drawled, smiling with contempt. "The people are waiting."

Daniel gave a delighted smile and resisted the urge to clap her hands. Everything was finally beginning to fall into the order that she had worked so long to achieve. She could feel the time coming closer, sneaking around the corner faster with every passing second. Her blood nearly boiled with apprehension. If everything went according to plan, and she had no doubt that it would, then her resurrection would be close at hand.

In the city at that very moment a change was taking place. Lovers walked hand in hand down the street. Little girls ran and skipped in delight. One boy was hurrying home because he was late for supper. The change was quick and felt immediately. Birds squawked, the wind blew, the lovers looked up in wonder. The girls stopped skipping and the little boy went faster. 

Despite their sudden fear, they were too late to stop it. The lovers froze, still hand in hand. The loud squawking pigeons stopped mid-flight, their screams dying. The girls were stuck, forever forced to replay their skipping game over and over.

Daniel could feel the change deep down in her core. She went out into the frozen city. Vampires that had been in hiding sensed the change and finally dared to come out in the open. Daniel breathed in deeply. She could smell the deep fear that all of the people were giving off in waves. Frozen they might be, but still fully conscience and aware of what was happening. 

Soon a group of vampires gathered around Daniel. She knew what they were waiting for. Instructions… from her. The vampires and demons knew her, knew her name, knew her meaning. 

Because she was powerful. And they were not.

"The time has come," she declared, poised over the hoards of snarling demons like a queen.  "Drink everyone in the city dry, but when you come upon the slayer leave her for me." 

The city now belonged to those who walked in the shadows. Unspeakable demons and ferocious vampires walked freely. Daniel licked her lips eagerly, thinking of how the slayer was out there among the frozen. She knew what this chance meant, knew how long she had been waiting for it. A new era was dawning, one that belonged to the vampires.

Daniel was a powerful vampire, one with the legions of hell behind her. Nothing could stop this night, nothing could make it go wrong. She would bring death, despair and pain to all she met. The slayer would fall and crumble before her.

But even Daniel, evil Daniel, shivered as the power behind the whole operation crept into her mind. Whispering his words, his plan, and Daniel knew. She was nothing but a minion to him

"You're too confident," it hissed in her ear, in her mind. The voice was no where, but everywhere at once. 

It was called Mussini. And his name had been known to kill the hearts of even the strongest warriors on the planet.

"Great one," Daniel whispered, in awe and worship, fear and hate, but a certain cockiness at the same time. She hefted her chin towards the sky proudly. "I will not let you down."

"The blood of the slayer," her master commanded, reverberating through the Earth, making all those who stood on it tremble. "Only then will you have your resurrection."

Daniel closed in her eyes, breathed in the scent of the blood pumping from the unwillingly victims frozen around her. "Yes… the blood of the slayer…" she breathed, delirious at the thought.

Mussini laughed. Daniel shivered. "You remember what happened to the last one who failed me."

Daniel felt her throat get dryer, knew that if she had a heart it would have exploded in her chest. "I won't fail you." 

But Mussini was gone, leaving Daniel nothing but the cold night, the hapless victims, and the slayer.

"Master?"

Daniel looked up sharply, angry suddenly at being addressed. "What?" she hissed.

The minion known as Elliot trembled under her wrath. "I'm hungry… and I thought that … we… might… can I kill someone now?" he whined, voice high pitched and pleading.

Daniel snarled, grabbing her victim around the neck. "Don't dare to ever consort me again."

The vampire didn't get a chance to even nod its consent before exploding in a cloud of dust. 

Daniel found herself face to face with the slayer. Lindsey, the current slayer, had seen too many of her friends and family killed that night. They had been mercilessly murdered by those that walked in a night, their power to even run taken ruthlessly away from them. Her pretty face was drawn in an expression of pain. Her brown hair was a disheveled mess around her face.

White fingers gripped a tiny wooden stake. "You're going to die, Daniel."

Daniel's eyes widened with surprise. This… this was the unexpected. The slayer was supposed to have frozen with the rest of them. Taking a deep breath, she backed up a few steps making silent gestures with her hands. She grinned a mouthful of sharp fangs when Lindsey was attacked on all sides by vampires. "I wouldn't count on that, Darling."

Turning, Daniel fled and only stopped when she felt Mussini's wrath steal upon her. Stopping, she gasped and fell to the ground, clutching a sudden pain in her stomach.

The night was deathly silent and the cool breeze blew over her hair. Mussini's voice came out of the night, out of the wind, out of the sky and the ground as a loud racket in her head.

"You have failed me, Daniel."

She gasped, tried to say something.

"No, you cannot have another chance!" it thundered angrily, its disgust seeping through her body.

"Please…" Daniel choked in a pleading voice, "please…"

Her words were cut off as invisible hands seized her around the throat. "80 years…" her master hissed, "80 years until Muldron is again lined up with the Earth."

Daniel yelled in pain, squirming and flopping around on the ground. Suddenly it stopped and she lay in shock, staring at the sky with fear on her face. "80 years is not so long to an immortal," Daniel begged.

"No, it is not…"

Sudden hope sprang on Daniel's face. "Another chance, Great One?"

She could feel his smile on his skin. It made her break out in goosebumps. "Yes."

"I won't let you down!" Daniel cried joyously. "I promise I won't fail…" her words were abruptly cut off as another wave of excruciating pain came over her.

"Of course," Mussini mused, "there is a price to pay for the next 80 years."  
  


Miles away from Daniel and Mussini, there was another battle going on. Ignorant to Daniel's screams the slayer, Lindsey, was fighting for her life and the lives of others. But she was tired, and she knew there were too many vampires for her to defeat all alone. It pained her that she hadn't been able to get what she had really wanted, Daniel's death. Lindsey had accepted long ago that soon another slayer would take her place. She had not given up hope. As her eyes closed for the final time she knew that one day Daniel would be gone for good.

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

Buffy Summers crept stealthily around a grave stone. She was spending her Friday night in a graveyard for a change. _Well, when you live on a Hellmouth, spending Friday nights out on a date isn't really an option for you, Buffy thought grimly. At least she had company._

"So what exactly are we looking for here. Just normal vamps?" Xander Harris asked a little too loudly.

"Been some unresolved death cases lately," Buffy said, "Giles thought it looked suspicious."

"Animal mauling again?"

"Pretty much. Just… you know, from bats that have some how manifested in the forest and actually drink the blood of Sunnydale residents."

"Right, cause that idea sounds SO plausible."

Buffy shrugged. "More plausible than the truth."

Xander sighed, and followed Buffy at a crouch behind a mausoleum. "Ow!" he yelped.

She glared at him. "What?"

"I stubbed my toe," Xander whined.

"Stub it more quietly next time," the slayer hissed.

Xander nodded and followed her as quietly as possible until, "How many vampires are we looking for here?"

"Giles wasn't sure. Thus, the slaying mission."

"Aww, so were not sure if it's a pack of them or if the vampires of Sunnydale are just getting more forward," Xander confirmed. "Wait, on second thought, do vampires even travel in packs? I mean dogs travel in packs, and fish travel in schools, so what do vampires…"

"Duck," Buffy yelled and threw him out of the way for good measures. She was already flying as the vampire barreled into her. As she fought for her life, she found herself wondering, ironically, why all vampires either knew how to play football or had an unexplained martial arts ability. She ducked a flying kick and tried to regroup as she took stock of their present situation.

 Four vampires, surrounding she and Xander on all sides. She frowned, no it wasn't four. There were five of them. But the fifth, the only female of the group, was leisurely standing against a tree. Arms folded over her chest, she examined her nails and looked almost… bored. Something rammed into her and she landed hard on the ground, scowling up at the sky. That would teach her to try and sort out vampiric feelings during a fight.  Flipping up, she rammed a stake through the back of her offender. One down, three more to go.

Xander was currently trying to help Buffy by… getting himself in trouble. As usual. He had a stake out and was all ready to turn the vampire into dust when it growled and batted the stake away. " Is there anyway we could talk about this?" Xander asked, a moment before he found himself laying flat on his back. The vampire loomed over him, and Xander said a mental goodbye to his friends and family.

"Go for the slayer, Dufus!" the female leaning against the tree hollered. 

Obediently, the vampire turned and went after Buffy. The slayer, sending a stake in the heart of her third vampire of the night, turned and faced the last of the attacking vamps with a scowl marring her pretty face. "Okay, you know you're going to die, so why not just come here and let me stake you like a good little minion? It would really save us a lot of time. Not to mention the expense of having to wash grass stains out of my clothes." With a howl the vampire flung himself as fast as he could towards Buffy… and impaled himself right on her outstretched stake. "See? That wasn't so hard!"

Buffy glanced at the tree where the leader had been standing, not in the least bit surprised to see that she had left. Giving Xander a hand up she muttered, "Skips out as soon as the going gets just a little bit rough."

 "While I agree wholeheartedly," Xander exclaimed, clutching his stomach, "let's not let the vampires go for poor defenseless me again."

"Sorry Xand. If it makes you feel any better, you were doing great until the vampire…"

"Decided to actually attack me," Xander said a bit too morosely.

Buffy frowned. Xander? Negative? "Hey… if you hadn't distracted big and beefy there, I might have been chopped Buffy."

"Yeah, that's true isn't it?" Xander agreed, happier this time.

_Wow, talk about major mood swings_ Buffy thought, _time to change the subject. "I think that constituted as not-normal vamp activity."_

"Yes, but by saying that you're admitting that it's *ever* normal."

"Sometimes I wish a vampire's only lot in life was to kill and create mayhem."

Xander frowned. "Yeah… that would be nice," he confirmed doubtfully.

"But, no, they have to do weird things like *watch* you slay. Or suck the world into hell. It would be so much easier if they just killed us."

Xander stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

Buffy sighed. "Whatever. At least it'll make Giles happy."

Xander groaned and made a faux cross with his fingers. "No…" he moaned, "no… please… no…"

Buffy patted him tiredly on the shoulder. "Sorry, Xander. I wish there was some way to get out of it. But… Giles likes his research."

Xander scowled darkly. "I mean, gee, who wouldn't want to spend Saturday morning in the school library?" 

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Daniel drew in a deep breath. The smell of the sewer attacked her overly sensitive nostrils, acidic and strong. But it didn't matter. The sewers were not the ideal place to start her kingdom, but it was protection against the sunlight. And the slayer. If the slayer found her now all would be lost. And Daniel would never let that happen.

She closed her eyes, breathed in the harsh smell a second time. She was free. After 80 years of pain, suffering, and torment Mussini had let her go. She was not going to fail him this time. Daniel was going to get her resurrection, no matter what the cost was.

She wasn't stupid. She knew that she needed an army behind her. The slayer was strong, perhaps stronger than the one who wouldn't give up last time she had tried in Lyons. Sacrificing four precious minions was risky, albeit necessary. She couldn't very well go about killing the slayer if she didn't know how the warrior fought.

The morning was still early, the sun still far off. It meant she had plenty of time to start turning vampires over to her cause. Locals first. Locals had valuable information about the slayer.

To fight one's opponent, one must know them.

It didn't take Daniel long to find exactly what she was looking for. A group of fledgling male vampires. She was disgusted, of course. How could they stand there, drinking, when the slayer could appear at any moment and slap a stake in their backs? But they would have to do

The four of them were wearing matching leather jackets with skulls on the back. Daniel made a mental note to get ride of those once they joined her. The leader of the group, a big vampire with blood still on his mouth from his last kill, stood up and glared at Daniel. 

She smiled, it was so much more fun when they tried to oppose her.

"What do you want?" the leader growled viscously.

Daniel grinned and twirled her hair girlishly. "What any vampire would want. Kill the slayer, take over the town, and bring hell on earth. It's all quite simple, really."

The quartet laughed drunkenly. "Here that boys? The lady thinks she's mighty powerful."

Daniel smiled again, letting out a little chuckle. "What? You don't believe me?"

The vampires burst out laughing again, slapping each other on the back and hitting their knees. The leader held out his hand, "What's your name, my lovely?"

"Daniel."

A long pause of silence crept over the group. Perhaps, she thought to herself, they weren't as stupid as they looked. "The Daniel?" one of the vamps breathed.

The leader hit him on the head. "No! Ridiculous! Daniel is gone." 

Daniel threw back her head, whispered a silent prayer. And all vampires bent down to her.

"Master," they said in unison.

This time it was Daniel who laughed.

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

Buffy let out a muffled sigh in her sleep. Mmmm… yummy, human, Angel dream. Happy dream, she thought delightedly. When her alarm clock's shrill noise penetrated the beautiful images in her head, Buffy had to struggle not to throw the damn thing across the room. It wasn't like she had nice dreams very often.

No matter how painful they were when she woke up.

She lay a few more minutes under the warm covers, trying to soak up the last remnants of the dream. It wasn't like she hadn't had it a million times before. She and the man she loved were living together in a little brick house with a white picket fence. She flopped back against the pillows and scowled at the ceiling. She couldn't dwell on things that wouldn't… couldn't ever happen.

'Sides, she had a scoobie meeting to attend in a half-hour.

Groaning, she hauled her lazy carcass out of bed and into the shower. 'On a Saturday morning, no less,' she thought bitterly. She closed her eyes and let the warm water pound onto her shoulders and back. 

Angel. Human. Dream.

'Okay, canceling all thoughts to one Buffy Anne Summers. Now.'

She stumbled half-heartedly into the kitchen and plopped down into a chair. "Mornin'," she muttered to her mom.

"Morning, sweetie," her mom replied. Joyce frowned. "Isn't this a Saturday?"

"Scoobie meeting." Buffy answered concisely, staring wearily at the coffeepot.

"It'll stunt your growth, Buffy," Joyce protested, following her gaze.

"Mom," she groused, "I'm eighteen. I'm already stunty. Gimme that wonderful wake up drug."

Joyce sighed disapprovingly, but set a steaming mug of caffeine down in front of her daughter. "Did something happen on patrol last night?" she asked carefully.

"What? You think 'cause you gave me coffee I'm going to tell you about my latest encounters with death?"

"Buffy!"

She stared sheepishly into the coffee mug. "It's okay, Mom. No close encounters for me last night." She grinned, "But those vamps got the pointy end of the stick. Literally."

"Well, I wish that you'd be more forthright with me, Buffy."

Buffy let out a silent moan. Nope, she hadn't had this conversation millions of times before. She took a large gulp of coffee. Set the mug back down on the table. Smiled. She could do this without being sarcastic and annoyed. Really, she could.

"Mom, last time we got close on the whole slayer issue it didn't work out so great."

Joyce gave her a disapproving look. "I am only your mother. What would I know, anyway?"

Why did all mothers have to be so good at the guilt trip thing? "You tried to burn me at the sake, Mom," Buffy said bluntly.

She didn't even seem the least bit apologetic. "They were cute kids. How was I supposed to know that they were demons? It wasn't like my daughter was going to tell me."

Buffy's head thumped wearily against the table. Why, oh why, did her mother have to be so good at prying things out of her? WHY? She might as well give it up.

"There were these three vamps," she started. "There wasn't anything weird about that, except the fifth just stood there. Watching almost…."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"So you say that she just stood there watching. Even after you staked the first few vampires?" 

"That would be about the it," Buffy replied, nodding in Giles' direction. Quite frankly, she was getting very tired of repeating her story. First to her mother, and then to Oz and Willow after they picked her up, and finally the rest of the scoobies. Even Cordelia had shown up, moaning that she was missing out on her beauty sleep.

"She might have just been afraid of you," Willow offered, "you know, you being the scourge of the undead and all."

Xander slapped his hands together. "Plus, I was there looking all macho."

Cordelia snorted. "Was that before or after you started screaming like a girl?"

"After," Buffy supplied helpfully, ignoring Xander's frown.

"Yes, yes of course." Giles muttered, seeming as though he was in another world. Probably was, too, Buffy mused to herself. That was Giles, could always count on him to find something interesting about vampires that stared at you.

"But what do we really know?" Willow asked. "Name? No. Vampire? Yes. But there are a lot of vampires!"

"She's right." Oz said with a nod. Buffy thought that it looked like he wanted to add something, but she couldn't really be sure. You could never really be sure with Oz.

"Well, they sure had one hell of a lot of punch," Xander said, partly to himself.

"And there we have it," Cordelia snapped with a sweep of her hand, "I come to school on Saturday to listen to how Xander got beat up. Again. Why am I even here?" Cordelia got up, seemed to think it over, and sat back down. "Wait, I just answered my own question."

"Cordelia. You're looking nice today… but are those bags I see under your eyes? Maybe you should have slept," Xander retorted.

Cordelia groaned. Now she was bored. "That's it, I'm leaving." 

"That's right! You run! We'll certainly all miss you!" Xander cried sarcastically. Off the looks of everyone else in the room, "What?" 

"If we could all focus here for a minute." Giles said, clearing his throat. "Buffy, you will patrol tonight and see if you can find this particular vampire." 

She frowned. "That's it? That's the best you've come up with? We've been here an hour! Be all Watcher guy and tell me something important."

Giles looked mildly put out. "It would help if you were a little more descriptive. What did the vampire look like?"

Buffy chewed her lip thoughtfully. "She had shoulder length brown hair…"

Giles nodded. "That's perfect. I'll be able to figure out who this vampire is right away."

"No need to get snippy," she mumbled. 'Snippy? Did I just say snippy???'

"Well… maybe we could help," Willow offered timidly, "you know, split up so we have more of a chance of seeing her."

"I don't want to put you guys in danger," Buffy immediately protested.

Xander snorted. "Funny, funny Buffy."

She scowled. "I'm serious. You almost got killed last night!"

"But I didn't! This is what we do, Buff. We help you."

"It's part of the slayerette job description," Willow added.

Giles cleared his throat and wiped his glasses. "While Buffy is right assuming that going on patrol tonight may very well put you all in unnecessary harm, you've all been subjected to danger before and, I imagine, will again."

"No one goes ANYWHERE alone," Buffy hissed threateningly. "Got it?"

Willow and Xander nodded sullenly. 

"I hate to bring this up, but how will the rest of us know what this vampire looks like?" Oz inquired thoughtfully.

Willow beamed at him. "He's smart," she told the group happily.

Buffy gave Willow a small smile, glad that things were working out between her and Oz. "She's not hard to miss, believe me… you'll know."

"Powerful…" Giles trailed off, shook his head. "She could very well be centuries old. If any of you do encounter her…"

"Run?" Xander offered.

Giles nodded. "Everyone meet back here at seven."

"I'll let Cordelia know!" Xander volunteered.

"Sometimes I'd like to know what goes on in your head Xander," Oz said incredulously.

"Take it from me, you wouldn't."

Buffy shared a look with Giles. "I don't know what it is about this one, but the soon as she's dust the better I'll feel."

Giles met her worried gaze. "Agreed."

Buffy looked down at her hands and spoke softly, "I'll go by the mansion and let Angel know."

Buffy tensed, knowing that Giles was still not completely comfortable when it came to the subject of Angel. "Yes, his help would be much appreciated," the watcher finally managed. Buffy gave him a relieved smile that he returned.

"What do we do in the meantime?" Willow looked hungrily at the computer.

"Since it is apparent we don't really have any information to research. I think you all should go home and get some rest." Giles sent Buffy and Xander a look, "Or even do some homework."

"Sure, ruin a perfect afternoon by bringing that up," Xander groaned.

"Hey, look at the bright side," Oz interjected. "You still get to call Cordelia." 

"Yeah, and you guys can argue over whatever you argue over, and pretend you hate each other," Willow added.

Xander nodded, cheerful again. "There is that."

Buffy stood up. "As interesting as this is…" she shifted uncomfortably, "I think I'm going to go."

Xander folded his arms over his chest and gave her a withering look. "You just want to go see Dead Boy," he accused.

"No…" she lied. 

Oz, Xander and Willow snorted simultaneously.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Daniel had been busy. Far under the town, where the pipes led and the smell of urine was present, Daniel was making her colony. The vampire gang that she had found yesterday, while stupid, was proving valuable. She smiled to herself thinking of Pedro. The leader had been characteristically helpful, full of fun facts to know and use against the slayer. 

And he'd taken a particular liking to her. Daniel loved when they did that. It made things so much more interesting.

Their work had been fast and efficient. New vampires had been brought to her fold, ready and willing to obey her. Daniel was building an army and to her, numbers were the most important part. Of course, Daniel preferred men. Male vampires were much more helpful than women. Daniel had a certain… power over the opposite sex. 

Daniel scanned the tunnel's searching for Pedro. She was vaguely considering making him her right hand man. Vaguely impatient, wanting more information on the slayer, she grabbed the arm of a passing vampire. Daniel fought the urge to swear. A female. Sometimes her fellow sisters weren't as easy to convince of her awesome power.

"Master," she said pleasantly, bowing down on one knee, "how can I be of assistance?"

Daniel frowned, watching the vampire closely. She took note of the way the girl looked at the ground, unwilling to stare into her master's face. She was short but still bent in a half-bow, unflinching and unmoving until her orders were given. 

Daniel liked it.

"What is your name, Childe?" Daniel asked.

"Brittany, Master," the girl answered.

Daniel tucked one long finger under the vampire's chin, raising her head to look in her eyes. "You are subservient."

"Yes, Master."

"You have heard of me," Daniel purred hopefully, removing her finger and gesturing for the girl to stand.

She nodded, staring intently at the ground again. "Every vampire, demon, man alike should fear your name, Master. The slayer will finally be brought down."

"Very good, Childe," Daniel whispered. "You know much. Tell me, where is Pedro?"

"With the newborns, Master, they are beginning to awaken and are thirsty for a taste of blood."

"And why, Brittany, are you not helping to keep Pedro with the fledglings?" Daniel questioned, a hint of anger in her voice.

"I am sorry, Master, but I felt that if the men could handle it, I could be of use elsewhere." Brittany took her eyes off the ground, finally looked into Daniel's eyes. Her gaze was slightly challenging. "I find men easy to corrupt… they are of little mind. Not smart like you."

Daniel chuckled. "Watch out, Childe," Daniel said in an amused voice. "I admire your observation, but be careful not to get into trouble." She ran a sharp nail down the girl's face, not hard enough to draw blood, but the threat was there. "I would not want an accident to happen."

Brittany lowered her eyes, bowed, and rushed away. Daniel watched her go a mixture of amusement and weariness in her eyes. That one was smart, but may have to be watched. Yet, Daniel could admire her spark. She would keep a special eye on her.

Daniel swept around the bend, eyes circling calmly around the newborn tunnel. There vampires wandered around, snarling and drooling, needing and drawn to the life overhead but not daring to take their first feed until the sun went down. 

Pedro lay eyes on her, gave a sick smile, and lay down into a deep bow. Daniel watched him with growing boredom. "Only the slayer can bring about my Resurrection, Pedro," she purred thoughtfully.

"The slayer," Pedro repeated, feeling a small flash of fear.

Daniel smiled with confidence. "A hint of fear I sense, no?"

"The slayer is strong, my master," Pedro answered. "She has destroyed many of our kind, including The Master."

Daniel leaned back, deep in thought. A fledgling called out for blood, and Daniel gave it a disgruntled look. "Come Pedro." Pedro followed her obediently. Once out of the smell of desperate vampire hunger, Daniel considered him once more. "Tell me all you know, strength and weaknesses."

Pedro took a deep breath. "Her name is Buffy Summers. She is different from the previous slayers. Less focused, her watcher allows her to have a life." Pedro paused, "She also has friends."

"Friends? I think I met one last night. Bumbling little fool who almost got killed," Daniel reflected sharply. "Still," Daniel added as an afterthought, "a slayer who has friends. This is certainly new."

"Most of her friends have special powers. I've heard rumors that one is a witch, another a werewolf, and her watcher has proved himself skilled in battle." Pedro cleared his throat nervously, "She has a…"

"A what?" Daniel spat.

"A pet vampire."

Daniel scowled and her eyes narrowed. Pedro backed away with a small amount of fear. "Making deals with the slayer. Coward should be killed without any mercy by his own kind." Suddenly, Daniel stopped and smiled, "Him or her?"  


If Pedro thought the question was odd, he didn't show it. "It's a him."

Daniel chuckled. "A him, hmmm? Pray tell, what is his name?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Angel?" Buffy called softly as she entered the mansion. She hoped that he wasn't asleep, not wanting to disturb him, but knowing he wouldn't mind. 

Her call was answered by a slightly slurred "Buffy?" Which Buffy figured meant that she had woken him up or he was really drunk, but she suspected the former.

When Angel emerged from his room, Buffy couldn't help but notice his state of shirtlessness. She tried not to stare openly at his naked chest, but he obviously noticed because to Buffy's disappointment moved to put on a shirt.

"What's up?" he asked, looking her over in concern.

She blushed, embarrassed and touched by his obvious worry of her. "Weird vampire activity," she answered concisely, businesslike. It was better this way. If she just stared at a spot above his head, instead of lowering her head and staring deeply into his hypnotic deep, brown eyes…

Angel raised his eyebrows, seeming almost amused, "Define weird."

"Well four vampires, three attacked and the only female…" Buffy trailed off. "Have you been working out?" she blurted out suddenly. 'Whoops,' she thought sheepishly. Clearing her throat, she stared at the ground, "Right, vampires…. Vampires that stared…"

Angel grabbed her arm, cutting off her impassioned speech, ending all thoughts in her head. Next thing she knew, his mouth was crushing hers, the world began to spin, and it didn't matter. Non of it seemed to matter, not vampires, not the world… not the curse. 

It was as if the same thought seemed to echo in Angel's mind, and he pulled away, breathing pretty hard for a person—make that vampire—who couldn't breathe.

He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."

Buffy blinked furiously, wishing that her head would stop spinning so. "That's okay… you are?"

A slow, smile spread across his face. Buffy nearly passed out. He had the most amazing smile. "What's the right answer, here?" he teased gently.

"That we can't risk your soul," Buffy whispered, longing and pain in her voice.

Angel gave her a heartbreaking look, but didn't comment. "So these vampires?" his voice was neutral, not betraying anything he was feeling.

Buffy was relieved to be on familiar territory. Evil vampires she could handle. It was just the evil boyfriend thing she had so much trouble with. "There was a group of vampires that attacked on patrol last night. The leader, the only female, only stood by…" Buffy explained slowly, then she thought of something she hadn't mentioned to Giles, "It was almost as if she was studying me rather than out to kill me. If that makes any sense."

Angel frowned. "A vampire studying a slayer?" he questioned dubiously.

Buffy looked confused for a moment, then frowned indignantly. "That's not fair," she pouted.

Angel chuckled. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then looked into her eyes, hesitating a moment. He hated how they were always so close… so close… but so far away. He loved her warmth, her goodness, her light, but was so afraid to get close to it, so afraid of the consequences. So he took her into his arms, held her tight, listened to her steady heartbeat. "Most vampires aren't that smart…" he whispered into her ear.

She gulped. "Yeah," she said. What the hell were they talking about again? Closing her eyes, Buffy did the only thing she could—she relished his firm hold. 

"This one is bugging you," Angel stated. 

She sighed, pulling slightly away so she could study him. He always knew what she was thinking. His strong arms, still wrapped loosely around her waist, tightened instinctively. "There's something different about her, Angel." She pursed her lips, thinking about the cold shiver that had run down her spine the other night. "It scared me." 

"We'll fight it," he reassured her softly, calmly.

She nodded, pressing her cheek to his dead heart. She wondered vaguely, like she'd done hundreds of times before, what it would be like if she could feel it beating beneath her ear. "I know."

She could feel it getting too intimate, knew that she was too helpless against him. He rocked her gently for another minute, giving the only comfort that he could. It's painful for him, Buffy thought. To have this burden hanging over his head…every time they touched, every time she needed to be held.

He stiffened, and she pulled away, looking sadly at the ground. "I should probably go do homework or something," she mumbled.

"Yeah," he agreed firmly.

She struggled to fight back her tears of frustration. _What I want from you I can never have…._ She shook her head, a vain attempt to clear the momentary gloominess. "I'll see you later, okay?"  


Angel smiled painfully and brushed her hand lightly. "I need to get some sleep anyway."

Liar, Buffy thought. Yet, it was easier that way. Simple lies. So that parting wasn't as painful, so there was a real reason to part. She nodded, throat clogging painfully.

Angel brushed her mouth lightly, a kiss that was soft and feathery… that made her head spin and her body craving for more. But that was it. That was all that she could have. And tomorrow she would make up a whole new excuse for why she had to come and see him again. "Be careful," he warned softly, worry in his eyes.

"Hey, I'll kick her ass. She's just another vampire. I've dealt with way worse."

Angel's eyes darkened, clouding momentarily with guilt. "I know," he said darkly.

Buffy cringed. Would it ever stop between them? Could it ever get to a point where they didn't hurt each other every time they talked? She cleared her throat, and shifted uncomfortably. "Anyway… I really do need to—"

"Go," he finished wearily. Angel looked at her with a prying gaze, which seemed to rip right through all her barriers. Right through her skin, seeing the underlying pain, the fear, her want, her love…. It was always like that with him. He knew her so well. Knew when she wanted nothing more than to throw herself in his arms, close her eyes, and make it all go away.

"I love you," she told him hesitantly, practically choking on the words, but knowing that they were the most natural thing in the world for her to say.

"I love you," he answered back, giving her one last lingering gaze, before turning his back and walking towards his bedroom.

Buffy stared at his retreating back for a moment before walking sadly away from the mansion. 

Angel turned to watch her go, a mixture of pain and regret on his face. He hadn't let on just how worried he was. Last night he had sense the arrival of something new, of something evil. It had called out to him and, against his will, Angel could feel the draw of it. It was strong, stronger than the usual vampire, and Angel was afraid for his self-control.

He couldn't tell Buffy.

It was a long time before Angel slept.

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

Xander tapped his foot impatiently. Cordelia was late. And he was missing the beginning of the planned scoobie meeting. He let out a pained sigh. Of course, he had been the one that insisted on calling Cordy in the first place. For some reason that automatically meant she was forced into taking him to the library.

His mind screamed that he had been the one who *wanted* to call his ex. Even though he couldn't stand being in the same room as her, he couldn't let any of the others do the calling thing. It was pathetic. Even though he and Cordelia had broken up, they both liked to show just how much they had moved on.

He heard her car squeal to a halt in front of his house. That was his Cordy, always a danger to society. He practically ran out of the house, a deep scowl on his face. "Cordelia," he observed, "glad to see that you pulled yourself out of your own world long enough to remember the other people in it."

.

She shrugged, looking with mild boredom at her nails. "I was busy," she answered simply.

"Actually," Xander retorted, "I'm impressed that you were able to look up from painting your nails to…" he trailed off, noticing that they were sort of surrounded. By really, really, ugly vampire guys. He gulped. "Um… Cordy?"

"What?" she snapped, looking at him angrily. Xander pointed behind her, where four vampires were licking their lips and snarling. She turned slowly around, already prepared for the worst. Shrieking, she reached into her purse and yanked out a cross, which she never left home without, and held it out in front of her blindly.

Xander rolled his eyes and grabbed her elbow. They vampires jumped back, growling in annoyance, before obviously deciding that the cross didn't pose much threat. They leapt at the pair and Xander dragged Cordy as fast as he could to her car.  


The two clambered in through the passenger door, Xander slamming the door on the hand of one of the vamps. He gave a quick look at Cordelia who was fumbling through her purse for her keys. The car shook and Xander looked at the roof in nervous trepidation. Loud scrapping noises confirmed what he'd already expected.

Xander sucked in a breath. "Any time now would be really great!" he muttered, watching with wide eyes as a vampire prepared to break in the back, right window. Cordelia emerged triumphant with her keys and looked at Xander questioningly. "GO!" he yelled.

They went.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the library Buffy paced nervously. "They should be here by now," she mumbled, looking at her watch again. The sun had gone down almost an hour ago and so far there had been no sign of Xander, Cordelia, or Angel.

"Buffy, don't worry. I'm sure that Xander and Cordelia are just off arguing together or something," Willow murmured soothingly.

"And Angel is more than capable of taking care of himself," Giles added.

Buffy nodded, running a hand through her limp hair. "Yeah, I know." She slumped down in a chair and tried to calm her frayed nerves. "I'm just extra wigged this time."

"I say they get at least another 10 minute before sending out the search party." Oz said.

Willow shared a smile with him. "They're smart enough to survive on their own for 10 minutes."

"Right, be patient," Buffy sighed. Her head suddenly snapped up, "Wait… we are talking about Xander and Cordelia."

"What about Xander and Cordelia?"

Willow looked up in indifference. "We're worried about you guys out there alone… hey! You guys!" she turned to Oz, "It's Xander and Cordelia."

"We were attacked!" Cordelia shrieked. "Right in front of Xander's, too."

"We should get a warning next time." Xander humphed. 

"It's called sunset!" Buffy hollered in frustration.

Xander blinked guiltily. "All I'm sayin' is you don't usually find vamps staking out a house."

"Yes, this is quite disconcerting. It seems that vampires have been getting more forward," Giles said.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "For such a dumb guy, you really do have moments of genius."

Giles frowned in her direction before turning back to Cordy and Xander. "Was there anything different about these vampires?"

Xander raised his eyebrows. "Next time I'll check to make sure they're 'normal' before running away."

"You forgot the screaming part," Cordelia interjected, "never forget the yelling like the girl."

Xander grinned. "If I remember right… and I'm pretty sure that I am… I wasn't the one who was doing all the screaming."

Cordelia immediately turned back to Giles. "Different, you asked?"

"Yes, well… was there anything… abnormal?"

Buffy glanced at Willow. "He hasn't found out anything, has he?"

Willow pressed a finger to her lips. "Shhhh," she whispered, "he's getting all uptight about it, too."

"Super, evil chick wasn't there, if that's what you mean," Xander said. "Actually, it was pretty chick free."

Cordelia made a face. "You usually check for chick vampires first?"

He hefted his chin. "I'm just sayin'…" Xander glanced around, frowning, "Where's Dead Boy?" 

Buffy scowled. "Don't call him that."

Xander sighed, taking a seat next to Willow. "I always get yelled at."

She patted his head sympathetically, "I can't imagine why."

Buffy paced with her arms folded across her chest. "We don't know where he is, Xander," she snapped. "If we did, he'd be here."

Angel walked into the library.

"Dramatic irony, much?" Cordelia demanded to no one in particular.

"You do have impeccable timing," Giles agreed, looking the vampire over. "Dear lord, what happened?"

Buffy jumped up, twitching nervously, and trying desperately to pretend that she wasn't as worried as she really was. That was how things were with them. A constant game of pretending, keeping up the presence that their love didn't consume all rational thought. 

Angel gulped, moving over to their center table. Oz moved from his seat, and Angel sunk into it gratefully. Buffy licked her dry lips, tried to keep her hands from shaking. He had been a fight… or a hundred. Usually a strong, undefeatable man, the cuts marring Angel's body made him seem old and fragile. 

"I was in a fight," he said, off the worried looks of everyone else.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious," Xander said, his eyes examining Angel up and down. "What did you do? Let them tie you to a tree and throw holy water at you?"

"Xander, shut up," Buffy snapped, hands trembling slightly. 

Angel raised his eyes to hers, held them. "I've been in worse, give me a few moments and I'll be fine."

"Bandages!" she cried, glancing frantically at Giles. "He needs bandages." Giles nodded, disappearing into his office and rummaging around.

Angel have her a small smile, holding out his hand, she grasped it gratefully, trying to convey all her worry through their simple touch that she couldn't do aloud. "I'm fine," he murmured softly. "Really."

She nodded absently, and Angel could tell that she hadn't heard a thing that he'd said. Giles came back with gauze and anti-bacterial cream and Buffy accepted it gratefully. Angel raised an eyebrow in her direction when she squirted some cream on a piece of bandage. "Vampires don't actually get infections…"

Buffy gave him a glare. "You're point?" she snapped.

Angel looked up, noticed how Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Giles, and even Oz were staring at them with interest. "I can do it," he told her firmly, taking the gauze strip from her hands.

She closed her eyes, took a step back. It was better that way. If she pretended that she didn't care as much as she really did. She cleared her throat. "Patrolling?"

Xander rubbed his hands together. "Sounds good, I just can't wait to get beat up."

"Xander!" Willow hissed.

Cordelia frowned. "I'm bored. What does this have to do with me?"

Buffy sighed. "No splitting up, understood? I want you guys to check the usuals, abandoned buildings and dark allies." 

"We could probably cover more ground if we split up," Willow pointed out reasonably.

Buffy grinned and pointed a hand at her vampire boyfriend. "Really want to look like that? And not have vampire strength to help you out?"

"Good," Cordelia agreed. "Safety in numbers. Sounds perfect to me."

"It would," Xander muttered into his hand.

Giles made an "ahem" sound in the back of his throat, and they all turned obediently to look at him. "I'll stay here, and, ahh, research, I suppose."

Oz nodded. "Wise decision."

Xander glanced at Buffy and the recovering Angel. "And you two will be patrolling where?" 

Angel glared at him, not missing the antagonism in his voice. "Where else, but the graveyards of Sunnydale?" 

"How romantic," Buffy muttered under her breath and hoped no one heard her. Except, of course, for Angel, who shot her a wounded look. 

"Fine, great, I'll patrol, I'll get demon goop in my hair, I'll protect the world from demons… whatever. But I will *not* go in Oz's van," Cordelia declared.

"What's wrong with Oz's van?" Willow demanded.

"Well," Cordelia wrinkled her nose, "it smells bad."

"I'm sorry Cordy, next time we'll try and order that limousine to go vampire fighting," Xander retorted with false sincerity. 

"Actually, that's a fair comment." Oz said calmly. Buffy wasn't sure if he was talking about what Cordelia said or what Xander said. Apparently neither did anyone else, as a long penetrating silence proved. He obviously realized the same thing because he added, "Well, when you travel in a band with other guys, neatness isn't a high priority." Buffy still wasn't sure whose side he was on, but she didn't press the issue.

"But we can't all fit in Cordelia's car!" Willow argued.

Buffy sighed, they weren't going anywhere fast "Come on," she said to Angel, "they could argue over this all night." Angel nodded and followed her out of the library.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Wow, did anyone else notice the forwardness of the undead population this evening?" Buffy asked in bewilderment.

In answer, Angel paced back in forth, looking almost like he was going to tread a hole in the floor. "I don't like this Buffy." Angel non-replied seriously.

She sighed. That was her honey, always willing to lend a comforting word. They had patrolled most of the graveyards of Sunnydale and the vampire population definitely thought that it was the undead's night out. While vampires usually weren't smart enough to actually avoid the slayer… they tended to be somewhat cautious around her. *Used* to be somewhat cautious around her.

Of course, despite the rather large amounts of undead demons they'd fought, most had gotten the pointy end of the stick. Still, even uber-warriors had their limits, and they were fairly worse for the wear. So since the mansion was the closest (relatively) safe place, they had come here to rest and catch up with Giles. Buffy was relieved to hear that her friends, without encountering a single vampire, had decided that they were bored hours ago and decided to go home and rest.

She figured their non-encounter with the usual blood-thirsty vamps meant one of two things. The undead realized that dark hallways and abandoned buildings were as dank and dreary as normal people thought they were, or sticking near the slayer was the newest fun thing to do. Buffy didn't know which one made less sense. 

She took a glance at her brooding vampire, saw the dire look of consequence on his face. She felt her stomach to a small flip-flop, she knew that he was worried… for her. But she wished that he could look up, maybe notice that she was slightly perturbed herself and promise that everything was going to be all right. 

Finally, as if sensing Buffy's distress, Angel came over and wrapped his arms around her thin waist. He pulled her close, and Buffy rested her head on his shoulder, seeking the comfort that only his embrace held.

"I should go home," she told him. "Mom's probably freaking."

He rubbed his hands over her back, trying to calm the pressure that he could feel building there. "You can't, it's too dangerous."

She snorted. "Look at me, the fierce slayer, hiding away like some coward."

"Buffy…" his voice was slightly pained, and she knew that he could feel her pain, that he could understand it perfectly. "We did the best we could." He tilted her chin up, looking deep in her eyes. He felt a slight guilt rest on his shoulders, he knew he should tell her about the strong presence of evil that he could feel building… that was coming for her. "We can't help anyone if we're dead."

And he would never, ever, let her die.

Buffy snuggled sleepily against him, and he began to feel her relax. She was tired and quickly losing battle against her body's need to sleep. "I love you."

He closed her eyes, it was always painful when he heard her utter those three simple words. "I love you too, Buffy." And he did, more so than she could probably ever know. "You need to lie down for a while."

"Mmm sleep…" her voice trailed off, and she looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I may need someone to warm the bed for me, though." She frowned, "Or cool the bed for me… vampires are pretty much cold blooded, right?"

"Buffy…" Angel sighed. What was she suggesting?

Buffy giggled at that. "Angel, we can sleep together without actually sleeping together, you know."

A small smile crept across his handsome face. "I've heard that vampires can actually be quite good at warming up a bed," he said slyly.

Her face lit up, and she took his hand, tugging him into his bedroom. "Don't go getting any ideas," she chastised. "Just sleep."

Angel wasn't sure if she was reminding him or herself. Probably the both of them. It was always hard to be together and not want… more. Still, despite his better intentions, he pushed her down onto his mattress, curled himself around her, and held on. He wasn't sure if he was doing it for comfort or to protect her. No doubt it was somewhat a mixture of both. 

He felt her melt against him, her breathing becoming deeper as he played gently with the tips of her blonde hair. He studied her intently as she began to sleep, a small smile creeping across his face when she began to snore. He never had the heart to tell her that she snored. While it would no doubt horrify her, it only made her more endearing to him, one more tie to the humanity that he could never hope to have. 

He surveyed the room one last time, decided that they were safe. Wrapping his body more tightly across Buffy(his mate)he began to relax himself. His eyes closed and the last thought that crossed his mind was about how beautiful she was lying there. How the demons and darkness that she usually carried around with her seemed to fall off in her sleep.

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to Queen Boa, I realized that Daniel is very much a boy's name and Danielle is very much a girl's name. But, as I told her, I feel like I'm bridging the, uh, bridges of sexism. So go with it, mmkay? 

A/N 2: Thanks to everyone that reviewed last chapter. I'm surprised that anyone likes this fic at all, the idea and plot is so ancient. But your comments definitely make me remember what was so special about writing B/A fic in the first place. 

It was sometime later when Angel woke up. He stirred, his eyes shifting to Buffy, seeing with relief that she was undisturbed… that she still slept peacefully. His night vision prowled the darkness with that of a predator going in for the kill. He could feel it, that evil… the evil that he knew he had sensed before. It was near.

It was coming for Buffy.

He stood, muscle's flexing, eyes darting around, and dancing on the balls of his feet. He looked cautiously back at Buffy, decided after a struggle of inner turmoil to leave her sleeping. She rarely slept well, he knew, and he would do whatever it took to protect her from whatever it was that sought the slayer as its prey.

He crept stealthily through the mansion, yet he knew there was nothing there. Most demons learned quickly not to disturb the home of the dreaded and sadistic Angelus. 

It was outside that he spotted the figure. The presence of evil was so strong it threatened to choke him. He almost staggered under the weight of it before shaking his head and forcing his body to stand up rigidly. 

The shadow crept closer, and he got a full view of the vampire that threatened the woman he loved. It made him blink, a look of disbelief creeping onto his face.

"Daniel?" he finally croaked.

She laughed, delighted with his bewildered look. "What?" she purred, "who were you expecting? Darla?" She looked around, laughed again. "Wait… that's right. You killed her."

Angel took in a sharp breath of air, refusing to let her see how much she'd caught him off guard. "Didn't Mussini banish you?"

"Oh, Angelus, you really have been out of the picture for a while, haven't you?" Daniel examined her nails. They were long, the colour of blood-red. "It seems like I've been released."

"What do you want, Daniel? You know better than to come here, this is my territory."

"What do I want?" She began to walk around him, a look of annoyance creeping into her face. "I want to find the slayer, kill her, get my Resurrection and… lead the race of vampires and men alike."

Angel's voice was steel, "I'll kill you before I let you come any where near her."

Daniel sighed, looking at him sadly. "It's true then. I'd heard that you became the slayer's pet. Yet, at the time I didn't really believe that the great Angelus would let himself be controlled by anyone, much less a slayer."

"A lot of things happened to Angelus since you were banished. I'm not the only one who's been out of the loop for a while."

She hissed at him. "What is it really, Angelus? Money? Protection? A little bit of blood here, a little bit of blood there?" Seeing that her words were having no effect, she leaned back and studied him. There was something different about him, that was for sure. She remembered the Angelus of a hundred years ago, bursting with the wild, uncontrollable lust for blood that all fledglings seemed to have. And my how he had been cruel… to the likes that she had been attracted. The Angelus of today smelled different… like the dangerous stink of humanity. "Or perhaps…" Daniel mused, "a little fuck here… a little fuck there. I've heard that slayer's have real powerful muscles."

Angel growled. Daniel nodded in satisfaction, glad that she had hit a nerve. "Really? Can't keep her satisfied, Angelus? According to Darla you had quite the appetite for sexual pleasures. Or is she not the one doing it for you?"

He rushed at her, forgetting momentarily that he had absolutely no plan of attack and no weapon to attack with. It didn't matter though, as halfway towards her he was hit with a sudden power and stumbled heavily back, dropping to one knee. "Master," he mumbled. He frowned, looking back up at Daniel, trying to move towards her, trying to attack her…

Then not remembering why.

Daniel smiled happily to herself and clapped her hands. Seemed that her powers worked against even the strongest of wills. And she was sure that Angelus had a strong mind. She surveyed her waiting slave in interest. "Why are you working for the slayer?"

"To kill shit like you."

Daniel narrowed her eyes. Apparently, she hadn't been able to break him completely. Yet, he was still on one knee, didn't try to harm her… but he was fighting. She applied a little more pressure, but she knew if she surrounded him too much he might be damaged. And she didn't want to damage Angelus. 

She walked around him, concentrating hard. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Soul," he finally answered. "Gypsies…" he struggled with himself for a minute, "master."

Daniel paused, considered. Interesting, cursed with the soul of a human. He was putting up a fight against her powers, she knew, but he wasn't nearly strong enough. "Still, Angelus, the slayer. That's a bit low, don't you think?"

Angel thought of the question. Daniel was asking a question. Daniel was his master, she had complete control. Where she ended he began, he didn't know. He felt himself get dizzy, she was demanding him to answer her question. He had to do what she asked. He tried to clear his mind, but the only thing he could really concentrate on was her power and all she stood for. Every vampire longed to serve under Daniel. The slayer, the harbinger of death to his kind, the symbol of fear, the beat of life…. He felt a sudden flash of understanding, a tiny bolt of fear. Oh God, _Buffy_….

Daniel sensed his hesitation and couldn't quite suppress the quick flash of annoyance. "Why are you working for the slayer?" she yelled, her patience quickly disappearing.

Still, he continued to ignore her, doing battle somewhere in his mind. Perhaps, she had underestimated his power. It wasn't everyday that she was forced to use her power against an older vampire. She shrugged. She supposed there were always other ways to get what she wanted. She concentrated, sending a bit of pain with her message.

Angel cried out as it hit him. He welcomed the pain, though, for it helped him clear his mind, allowing him to think for a second or two. Sensing the truth would piss Daniel off, he grinned and tilted his head in clear disobedience. "Love makes you do funny things," Angel said without missing a beat.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Back in the mansion, as if sensing that her lover was in danger, Buffy woke with a start. Without turning around she knew he was gone. 'Becoming something of a tradition,' she thought bitterly. She could sense he was near and her heart suddenly sped up with worry. He wouldn't have left her unless it was something important, she was sure of that. 

'He might have left for another reason…' her mind viciously reminded her. But she refused to think about the other possibility, refused to let that dread enter her heart.

She let herself stretch for a moment, wincing at the sharp pain in her joints and bones. Whatever patrol had been, it had taken its toll on her. Worriedly, she looked around, creeping through the mansion until she neared the doorway. She froze for a minute, looking on with a horrified gaze as Angel kneeled down before the vampire she had faced the other night.

Her breath caught, her heart sped up… her mind conjured up pictures of the fear that she lived in terrifying terror with every day.

She shook it off, forced herself to walk down to where her lover and her foe were poised in a conversation. Buffy ducked behind a tree, creeping closer in order to listen in. She told herself it was to get the gist of the plan Angel was using… not because of that other reason her heart refused to face. 

A grim look on her face, Buffy surveyed the sky and couldn't help but notice that sunrise was but minutes away. She let out a quick breath, skirting as close to the couple as she could without being noticed. Her stomach clenched as she viewed Angel's face. He looked awed, slightly impressed with Daniel, but somewhat apathetic to the rest of the world. Maybe she was imagining things. Or maybe she was jealous, but Buffy doubted it.

She heard a light vampiric giggle and groaned. What the hell was going on?

"Normally, I would not be very forgiving of this, but I think we can make exceptions. But be careful young Angelus, Mussini, is not as forgiving as I am." Buffy resisted the urge to yell out the obvious Star Wars infatuation. If it was any other time she would have found it funny, as it was, she was too preoccupied by the encroaching ball of fire in the sky. And the fact that Angel was completely oblivious to said ball.

"Yes, Master," Angel said in response to the other vampire's statement. 'Yes master, did he just say master??? Oh, this is so not good,' Buffy thought hysterically, 'time to break up the party.'

"Excuse me," Buffy declared in a singsong voice, stepping from behind her protective tree. "But have either of you checked your watch lately? No? Didn't think so. 'Cause its slayer party time." She held a tree branch in her hand, a dangerous imitation of the stake that she knew how to use. 

"Slayer," Daniel hissed in that typical vampire snake way.

Buffy just smiled at her, dancing on the back of her feet, and circling her opponent. She felt a tiny fire ignite in her gut as she noticed the small fear etched upon the vampire's face. Daniel feigned a lunge and pulled out a the last moment, snarling as Buffy stumbled sideways from a quick duck.

Daniel took a few steps back, looking at Buffy with a calculated smile. "Angelus," she purred, "I seem to be having somewhat of a situation."

Angel bowed his head, "Master?" he murmured.

Buffy felt her heart speed up, her hands shake lightly around her makeshift stake. She felt the hair prickle on the back of her neck. Couldn't fight Angel again… couldn't fight Angel again.

Daniel folded her arms over her chest. "You fight the girl, Angelus." She watched as he hesitated and knew that he was fighting something deep inside of him. It made her feel nauseous. She shook her head, growled at him, and forced his mind into obedience.

Angel stood to help her. All clear thought filtered out of his brain and the last of his struggles died along with it. He was surrounded, almost on another plane, Daniel's command was all that remained. He stood, smelled the pumping blood of his prey and dove at her.

Buffy yelped in surprise as he took her down. She rolled, flipping to her feet and circled him. "Angel…" she whispered. "Come on… I know you're there."

His blank look was her only response. Her stomach rolled over in fear. Gone was the cold look of Angelus, the guilty eyes of Angel… she couldn't place what her love had become. It was like he'd forgotten who he was.

She could do it, fight him. But she couldn't ever give it her all. She ducked as he swung a punch at her, jumped out of the way of his next attack. She circled him again, ducking what he threw at her, careful not to let herself get caught up in an all out fight.

Daniel watched them for a moment, admiring the way the slayer refused to give in to the fight, but disgusted that such sworn enemies could break the strongest rules of good and evil. She carefully backed up, knowing that as soon as she was gone Angelus would be out of her command. But that was fine. It would ruin all if he killed the girl too soon.

As soon as Daniel got a good distance away, Angel's mind began to clear. He felt himself get dizzy and the world blurred around him. He winced, fighting to think straight.

Buffy noticed Angel's hesitation and decided to use it to her advantage. She reared back, cracking her fist into his jaw. 'Ouch, he'll lose a few teeth with that one,' Buffy thought, trying to decide if she felt bad about it. 

"Ow!" Angel cried out, head spinning with the force of Buffy's punch. Buffy! His eyes widened with sudden comprehension as she wound up to sock him one again. "No, wait! It's me." 

"Angel?" she asked, a tiny bit sheepish.

Angel looked wearily around, noticed that Daniel was gone. He sniffed the air, his nostrils nearly stinging with the warning of a fast approaching sunrise. "Maybe we should get inside..."

Without saying anything, Buffy turned on her heel and marched towards the house. "Nooo… wouldn't want to turn into a ball of dust… can't even freakin' apologize first," she muttered under her breath. Angel pretended not to hear her and she felt little pinpricks of tears burn in her eyes. She felt the familiar hurt claw into her chest. The hurt that warned her of the dangers of facing off against the man she loved. 

Angel followed behind her, too bewildered and thoughtful to say anything to comfort her. He let out a sigh, whatever was happening, it wasn't going to help their relationship any.

TBC


	6. Chapter 5

Back in the mansion, Buffy paced back in forth in nervous apprehension. She was well aware that Angel had followed her inside and was currently staring at his hands, mulling things over to himself. Not saying anything. She felt like screaming. It didn't matter that she knew Daniel had controlled him in some way, it hit too close to Angelus for her to be okay.

She chewed her lip angrily, waiting for him to say something, to deny that he had really tried to hurt her. "Damn it!" she exploded, "say something, for the love of God!"

"Buffy I…" Angel swallowed hard. He clenched his hands together. "I'm sorry. I don't… I don't understand… I couldn't control anything. It was like she'd completely taken over my head. I was too weak to stop it," his voice was soft, betraying how ashamed he was. "I'm sorry Buffy."

She sighed, feeling her anger drain away as he sat down hard in his old, battered chair, staring at the ground. He slowly raised his eyes, and Buffy clearly saw the shame written on his face. "It's okay," she whispered, voice slightly hoarse. "It wasn't your fault."

He blinked. "No, I should have been stronger, I should have fought more." He shook his head, "I still have my soul and I've hurt you."

'Oh crap,' she thought to herself, and let out a pathetic sniffle. Crouching, she placed her hands on his knees, relaxing when he placed his hands over hers. She lifted her head and their eyes met. Held. Then she was on him, his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him and their mouths met in a furious kiss.

She felt her heart pounding and she knew he could hear it. He moved to her neck, scraping her soft skin with blunt teeth and she let out a long, hard moan. She trailed her hand through his hair, cupping the back of his neck, holding him against her. 

They sighed together as lips found each other again. This time the kiss was soft, lingering, a promise of love and devotion. His cold tongue found its way into the soft planes of her mouth, meeting hers and making her feel dizzy down to the bottom of her toes. She leaned into him, one hand gripping the front of his shirt, the other sliding down his back. 

'He'll know when to stop, he'll know when to stop,' she repeated to herself over and over again. She knew that she shouldn't. She knew that any further could be too far. Angel moved on from her lips and started to explore the rest of her face. He pressed a kiss to her cheeks, nose, forehead, and that spot behind her ear lob that made her gasp. 

"Angel," she half whined/half breathed his name. She tried to press herself even closer, feeling like she could lose herself in the feel of him. 

"Buffy…" her name was a strangled cry, a plea. Taking a deep breath, he gently pushed her away, leaning his head back against the chair. 

Buffy felt her blood pump and mouth go dry as she scrambled off him. She backed away, hands clenched behind her back. She took a series of long, hard breaths, trying to quell the burning fire in her blood. 

"That's not what I meant to do," he mumbled, rubbing his face wearily with his hands.

"The pulling away part or the kissing me part?" she asked in a hoarse voice, smiling a little bit.

He chuckled bitterly. "I wish…"

"Things were different," she finished. She shook her head, "They're what they are and we can't change that. I have to say, though, this cold shower thing sucks."

He gazed at her hungrily and she felt herself heat up all over again. "We just need to be careful."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was afraid she might start mauling him again. And that would be bad, she reminded herself. Very, very bad. She knew that they had to be careful, she knew that it wasn't a crime to kiss. But she also knew that the temptation of "that" would always be there. It was hard for him, having that hanging over his head, knowing that he could never really completely show her how much he loved her. 

"It hurts sometimes," she admitted cautiously, glancing quickly at him for his reaction. "Things that Angelus said…"

Angel just looked at her, his big brown eyes boring a hole into her mind and she almost regretted saying it. It pained him that she didn't know how badly he wanted her. "You're a constant danger for my happiness," he told her, mouth quirking. "And that's nothing you should ever be ashamed of."

She nodded, reaching for him and settling against him in the chair. She leaned her head against his chest, calming slightly as he gently rubbed her back. "You're the only thing that matters to me," he mumbled. 

"I know," she said softly, shutting her eyes and letting herself be comforted by the simple act of being in his arms.

"Maybe we should talk about what happened," he suggested wearily.

"Sure, ruin a perfectly good snuggle by bringing that up," she pouted. Suddenly she perked up and smirked. "Actually, now that I think about, great idea. Who the hell was that? Why did you call her master? Why did you attack me when she told you to?"

"On second thought…"

"Nuh uh," she said. "You brought it up."

He smiled gingerly at her and she felt herself smile back in return. God, he had the most beautiful smile. It was always like seeing it for the first time, he so rarely smiled. "That was the same vampire you encountered the other night on patrol, right?" he began slowly.

She nodded in response.

"You know how you said it seemed like she was studying you?"

"Uh huh." 

"I think she was."

Buffy shifted uncomfortably and began fiddling with one of the buttons on his black shirt. "I thought you said most vampires weren't smart enough to study the slayer. 'Cause instincts would inevitably get in control." 

"I was wrong." Angel answered gravely, hugging her close, protectively. Buffy felt her stomach flip flop, Angel rarely got this worried. "Daniel needs you. That's why she didn't attack you full out this morning. That's why she's been studying you." 

"Need me?" Buffy muttered in disbelief to herself. Then to Angel, "Need me how?"

He cleared his throat. "She's an old one, older than me, almost as old as the Master. I wasn't around at the time, but I've heart rumours that she tried and failed around 80 years to get it."

"Get what?"

"Her resurrection."

Buffy let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "That would explain why she's in Sunnydale," she reflected. "To try it again."

Angel nodded. "She needs the body of the slayer to get it."

Buffy took that in, accepted it. His voice had been blunt, empty of emotion. Like he hadn't cared. She suddenly flashed back to when he'd been under Daniel's control. She felt her fear grow, with wide eyes she looked at him questioningly. "My body?" her voice was a slight whimper, and it made her cringe inside. He sometimes had that effect on her. 

A small growl tore its way out of his throat and he sat up suddenly. Buffy tumbled to the floor and wearily rubbed her elbow. He paced madly, turning back to look at her with wild eyes. "I'll kill her before I let her touch you."

Buffy was somewhere between annoyance and arousal watching him get all uptight and worried about her safety. Wincing she slowly stood up. "Good to know," she muttered. "Especially if you're planning to stop her on today's performance."

He stopped pacing, took her into his arms. He sighed into her hair. "I'm sorry."

"For knocking me on the floor or trying to kill me?" he stiffened and she pulled enough away to look him in the eye. "What happened?"

"It was like… like she was controlling my mind. Literally. I could feel her probing into it with long fingers. It was… not the most pleasant feeling in the world."

"Kind of like possession?"

"I don't know, Buffy. I think this was different. I fought it, but it was like, being in her presence… that was what brought it on. Most of me wanted to do anything that pleased her. I've always heard that she prefers male vampires."

"Pervert," Buffy snorted.

Angel touched her hand and gave her a small smile. "I wish that were the only reason for it."

"Xander's mood swings!" Buffy blurted.

Angel blinked. "What does Xander have anything to do with Daniel?"

"Xander and his majorly annoying mood swings. I bet it's Daniel. All part of that mind control stuff."

"I guess it's possible," Angel said, though his voice clearly told her he didn't think that was the case.

Buffy sighed. "Or maybe it was just wacky teenage hormones. Still, never was a big believer in coincidences."

Angel looked towards the door, like he hadn't heard a word she'd said. "It's sunrise. You should go. Tell Giles what you know."

"Yeah, I should," Buffy admitted, reluctantly. He gazed into her eyes, clearly telling her that he didn't want her to go. He wanted to her to stay, stay forever, stay until the sun set and the stars came out. She felt his breath tickling her cheek and she closed her eyes, moving in for the kiss.

"—Why did she seem to know you that well?" 

Buffy closed her eyes, feeling a slight flush creep up her neck. Figured. Two minutes away from a long, Angel-y make-out session… and she got jealous again.

"How did she knew… what?" Angel responded, trying to will his mind back to reality. But she was so distracting. He loved the way her eyes looked when they needed reassurance, the way her hair hadn't been brushed in almost 24 hours and still looked perfect, and the way her mouth was so sweet and soft… begging for the touch of his kiss.

"How did…" Buffy paused, took in a deep breath before continuing. "How come she knew you so well if her Resurrection was past your Angelus-y time?"

Angel looked off into space, and Buffy knew that he was remembering a much different time. A time when he'd been a killer, forced under the instincts of the vampire, without the soul of the human letting him make the choice. She knew that it was hard for him. "She'd always been a popular name among vampires. Most of us knew that she was after the slayer. She was very powerful." He gave her a ghost of a smile. "Angelus was drawn to that."

Buffy blinked. "Oh," she said quietly.

Angel sighed and touched her cheek lightly. "Darla was drawn to her as well, which made the demon angry beyond no end. But Daniel was fascinated by Angelus… "

Buffy cupped his face and though he flinched at her touch, he made no move to pull away. Not sure if she really wanted to know, but curious nonetheless, "What happened?"

"Darla was always the jealous type. She yanked me away from France to England. The rest is muddled… it was close to the time that my soul returned." Angel looked thoughtful. "I don't know whether or not Darla was on hand when Daniel tried to get her Resurrection the first time."

"Now that she's here in Sunnydale… she's trying her second chance with you."

Angel gazed at her seriously. "Maybe. But you're her real target."

Buffy looked away. "You'll keep me safe, right?"

Touched by the quiet fear in her voice, he gathered her in his arms, holding her close. "I'd do anything to keep you safe… you know that."

A slight nod of her head was Buffy's only response.

Angel took a breath. "But that doesn't mean…Daniel can control me, Buffy. I will not be the one to hurt you again. If she takes complete control again… you know what to do."

Buffy shivered. "What are you saying?"

"If you have to kill me. Do it." 

Each word was like a separate blow to her heart—though she knew it had been coming. She shook her head in denial. She couldn't, wouldn't, do it again.

Panicked by the thought, she spun around to face him. Surprising herself by her anger, she slapped him hard against the face. "No!" she shrieked. "You can't ask me to do that! I CAN'T! It'll…" her voice broke. "It'll kill me." 

"Buffy…" he tried to lay a comforting arm on her shoulder, but she backed away from him. 

Tears gathered in her eyes. "Take it back," she begged. "We can fight. Don't give up. Please. I'm here if," the first tear slid down her cheek. "If you'll let me."

This time she didn't move away when he came over gently pulling her to him. Angel let her lean her head against his chest, her tears soaking through his shirt, his cheek stinging from her blow. He didn't mind. He was just petrified for what was to come.


	7. Chapter 6

"She needs Buffy's body? As in needing it, needing it? And how, exactly, does she need it?" Xander exclaimed in slight disbelief.

"That's… the gist of it," Buffy confirmed. "And Angel didn't know."

"Yes, but are we sure that Angel can be trusted?"

Buffy rounded on her watcher, a warning gleam in her eye.

Stuttering Giles defended himself, "Not that he can't be trusted, because I'm sure his motive is well and good. However, I do not necessarily believe that his *information* is accurate."

"Why wouldn't it be accurate?" Buffy hissed.

"'Cause he was kind of evil when he hooked up with Daniel back in the day?" Willow offered.

"He was sure," Buffy said quietly, a challenging hint in her tone. "And majorly wigged. When has Angel ever been wrong when it came to my safety?"

Giles gave her a calculated look. "Sometimes people's—vampire's—emotions can make them exacerbate a situation."

Buffy returned his look with a cold state. She was getting antsy. And guilty. She'd sort of left Angel in a lurch… more like fled the Mansion as fast as she could at the earliest possibility. Things were getting too emotional… and Buffy didn't know how to handle really emotional things. She either lashed out… or ran away.

Giles cleared his throat. "I will assume, then, that we are faced with an interesting obstacle. A vampire that can control the minds of other male vampires." Shuffling into his office, he emerged with an armful of Watcher's Diaries. 

"Giles… what are you *doing*?" Buffy demanded, an edge creeping into her voice.

"Checking the Diary's. If what Angel said is correct, then something prevented Daniel from getting this… this 'Resurrection' the last time."

"A slayer," Buffy guessed, quietly.

Giles began flipping through the books. "One can only hope."

"It's okay, Buff. I'll protect you from this evil, body snatcher." Xander jumped up and made a few karate moves. Buffy bit the inside of her cheek from laughing. Obviously realizing his goofiness, Xander plopped back down in his seat looking dejected.

"Oh, good, now the vampires will laugh while they torture us," Cordelia said dryly.

"But then you'd bore them to death, Cordy, with your endless fashion lectures! Where would we be in a hostage situation *without you*?" 

Cordelia sighed, and blew a stray piece of hair out of her face. "Is that really the best you can come up with, Harris?"

Buffy sighed painfully. She was so not up for a Cordy/Xander bicker contest. She was worried about Daniel… but more worried about Angel. She'd freaked. He was holding her, she was crying, and things were getting… intense. So instead of dealing she ran away. Ran until she couldn't breathe anymore, until her legs hurt so much she buckled and had to fall to the ground. 

When she recovered she called Giles and told him she was worried about Daniel. Everyone seemed to think the evil vampiress was the cause of her pain. Buffy figured it was easier that way.

She blinked back tears of frustration, pressing her palms to her closed eyelids, feigning exhaustion. She wanted to go back, tell him she was sorry, tell him she loved him. But she couldn't. Things were… she was getting too comfortable with him again. She was getting too involved. And involved with Angel only led to one place.

Pain. Darkness. Betrayal. Angelus.

Angel would understand. He was feeling the same things. It was cruel. Cruel of the Powers to make the one person who could understand her pain the one she had to stay away from. She remembered the look in his eyes when he asked her to kill him and she shivered. It was true—she could never do it again.

"Buffy, Earth to Buffy Summers." 

"More like the moon to Buffy, Will." 

Buffy opened her eyes tiredly, only to stare into Willow's concerned eyes. "You okay?" the rehead asked softly.

"Yeah," Buffy answered quietly. She gave her and Xander a smile. "Sorry, I kinda blanked out there for a while, huh?"

"Deep thoughts," Xander observed. "Can't have that."

"Anything you need to talk about?" Willow offered hesitantly.

Buffy shrugged. "Oh, you know, big vampire. Wants my body. The usual. I'll kick her ass. Did you guys find anything else?"

"I think so," Willow replied, turning back to her laptop. From the look on her face, Buffy knew it wasn't good.

"Hit me." Xander said, rubbing his hands together. "Only metaphorically speaking."

"Most of it's bad news." Oz said, looking over Willow's shoulder at the computer screen.

"Oh, joy." Buffy said.

Giles made a small, grunting noise. "That was fast," he commented vaguely.

Willow gave a small smirk and turned to Oz. "Can I brag?"

He touched the tips of her short hair and smiled fondly. "I think it's your prerogative."

"My computer is faster than your books!" She blurted out.

Giles glared at her. "What, exactly, did you discover?"

"Turns out there's more on the vampire than can control minds than we first thought. For one, she's over a thousand years old. Um, she gets her power from the great god Mussini. Not a pretty thing, Mussini." Willow wrinkled her nose, "He's big on the sacrifice." She let out a tiny yelp, scrolling down the page farther. "Puppies!"

"Willow…" Buffy warned.

Willow narrowed her eyes at the screen. "Big Stupid Mussini employed her to… to" Willow trailed off. "Oh… oh…"

"Oh…" Oz echoed, reading over her head. 

"*What*?" Buffy, Xander, and Giles demanded in frustration. Cordelia just looked bored. 

Oz looked up at them. "She needs the body of the slayer."

"We *know* that!" Xander exclaimed.

"No," Willow interrupted. "No, she needs it literally. As in she's going to take it over. Become Buffy."

A long, tense 10 seconds passed by in complete silence. Giles recovered first. "Yes… I, well… what?" 

"She'll transplant her essence, if you will, into Buffy's body. Take it over," Willow clarified. "It'll be Buffy's body, but with Daniel's mind behind the wheel."

"A vampire, with vampire strength, in the body of a human slayer, with human strength." Oz said thoughtfully. "That would render her nearly invincible, no?"

"Unkillable?" Xander yelped.

"I suppose that," Giles pushed his glasses up his nose. "The combination the human qualities and vampire qualities balance each other out. If Daniel were staked in this form, she would neither turn to dust, nor bleed to death." Giles sighed, "Rendering her unkillable." 

Willow nodded. "That's pretty much what it says here. You might want to check the diaries from 1919. That's the last time she tried it, but the slayer of that time managed to stop it."

Giles "humphed" at the idea that someone else was telling him what to research, but disappeared to look it up.

"Idea," Oz said suddenly.

They all turned to look at him. 

"The judge…" Oz trailed off, thought some more. Impatiently, Xander tapped his foot and raised his eyebrows in the direction of the clock. "Deemed unkillable, right? Turned out, he wasn't so fond of being blown up."

Willow beamed at him, eyes lighting up. "That could work!"

"And we know exactly where to get a rocket launcher!" Xander said brightly.

"Right, um, how about killing her *before* she goes and takes over my body?" Buffy squeaked.

Willow, Xander, and Oz looked at her guiltily. Cordelia examined her nails. 

"Sorry, got carried away there." Willow looked at her friend sympathetically. "We'll find a way to get her out of your body before we blow you up." Willow frowned, "Or 

something."

"Yeah, Buff. How bad can this chica be? We'll kick her sorry ass before she takes yours." Xander paused, just realizing something. "She can walk in sunlight?" 

"We're behind you." Oz said with a nod.

"Yeah, I agree, too. Can I go now?" Cordelia whined.

"Cordy!" Xander exclaimed horrified.

"You guys," Buffy said sharply, "just… shut up for once, okay?" 

Somber again, they all turned to look at her with worried eyes. Uncomfortable under their scrutiny, Buffy shifted slightly in the chair. "I think I need some rest," Buffy lied. "Mind if I go home for a bit? We all know I lack in the research department."

"Of course we can handle it," Willow assured quickly.

"We can?" Cordy asked dubiously. "'Cause a vampire that needs the slayer's body? Not that easy to find. Just saying."

Buffy couldn't even think of a good reply to her comment. That's when she knew it was time for her to go home. When Giles emerged from his office, a grim look on his face, Buffy's heart sank. Struggling to retain composure, she looked up at him.

"The Watcher's Diaries have been more useful than I originally assumed. It appears that the last time Daniel tried for her Resurrections was in Lyons, France in 1919. Apparently Lindsey and her watcher Elaine Hafter received wind of her plan." Giles paused, eyes passing solemnly over the group. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Hafter, although a very thorough watcher and interesting writer, overlooked several key details in her account."

"Yes, Giles, we all know that you would *never* overlook an important detail," Buffy mumbled. Off his look, and slightly more grumpily she added, "I'm listening."

"It seems that there are quite a number of rituals Daniel needs to perform before she can possess the slayer's body."

Cordelia snorted. "Wow. An evil vampire performing evil rituals! That's never happened before." 

Giles sighed, pained, but continued. "Daniel must freeze the entire city, excluding, of course, 'those that walk in the darkness'."

"An all you can eat buffet." Buffy said, quietly. "Humans would be completely defenseless. All vampire would have to do is show up."

Giles nodded gravely. "Precisely. My research indicates that this particular event can only happen once every 80 years or so, when the star Muldron is properly lined up with the Earth and the Moon."

"1999," Xander filled in. "Right on target."

Grim, Giles continued. "Hafter's research was thorough. Though the city froze as Daniel planned it, Lindsey did not freeze along with it. Lindsey found Daniel and broke her hold over the frozen city. Daniel fled and was assumed dead." Giles sighed and rubbed his eyes. "However, Hafter did not leave any indication to why Lindsey did not freeze with the rest of the city."

"Weird," Xander interjected. "You'd think that, something like that, might come in handy in the future. If it happened Daniel wasn't quite as *dead* as they had previously thought."

"Xander," Buffy said softly, watching Giles' face. "It was too painful."

Giles looked at his slayer sadly. "Lindsey died that night. Heroically. She stopped Daniel's apocalypse. It was the last entry that Hafter wrote."

Buffy looked away. It only reminded her, yet again, that there was a big old best before stamp written in her job description. She was gonna die. Probably in some horrible way. And probably sometime in the near future.

And suddenly she knew. They were all going to die. It was just a matter of when. She, Giles, Willow, Xander… Angel, too, one day. Nothing in this world could last forever. A long time sure, but eternity was impossible. It suddenly made her *really* itchy to talk to Angel and work things out. 

"Why did they freeze the city?" Willow asked softly. 

"Well," Xander said cheerfully. "You've got your free snack bar, your main course, and quite a few left overs for a nice, wholesome dessert. Of *frozen* *people*."

Giles smiled tightly. "Yes, well… that's a fairly good account, actually."

"No fight from the slayer," Buffy whispered.

They all turned to look at her, pity in their eyes. "We won't let her,   
Buffy. I promise," Willow said.

Giles cleared his throat. "Freezing the slayer is very important to Daniel. She requires it to become you… take over the slayer's essence. The process resembles that of a regular turning, but…" 

"Frozen city," Xander finished.

"So we have to start this before it starts," Buffy said, forcing her voice to be cheerful and reassuring. She was their leader, after all. They *needed* her to defeat Daniel. And Buffy wasn't about to let some two-bit, men-controlling vampire take over her body without a fight.

If she wasn't frozen, that was. Which, in retrospect, really brought her back to her main point.

"If Daniel manages to freeze the city, then we're in trouble." Buffy got up and went to the weapon's cabinet. Loading up a crossbow she turned back to the gang.

Xander swallowed. "So what are you going to do?"

Buffy glanced at the crossbow. "I'm going to find her, kill her, and stop this thing from happening." 

Right after she talked to Angel, that was. But she didn't have to mention *that* tiny detail in her inspiring speech.


End file.
